Color specification by visual interaction

In an increasing number of computer-graphics applications, the user makes critical color decisions on-screen. This leads to a growing demand for user-interfaces that allow color specification in a natural and effective way. This paper presents a visual language for communicating colors by appearance between the user and the computer system. The basic operations of selecting and editing colors are performed by pointing on the screen to samples of the current color space taken at variable sampling intervals, thus making possible both coarse and fine specification. Rigorous device-modeling tools provide hardware independence and reproducibility on various output devices. The software was implemented on the top of the XII Window Systern on a general-purpose graphic work station. © 1992 Springer-Verlag.